Silvio Foschini is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with the Sydney Swans

Sydney Swans

The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...

 and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Career

Foschini was aged just 17 in 1981 when he kicked three goals on his league debut for South Melbourne against Hawthorn and finished the season with 37 goals. The club relocated to Sydney the following year and Foschini, again playing as a forward, kicked 42 goals.

Despite his success he was unhappy in Sydney and decided to return to his home state of Victoria in 1983, joining St Kilda. He however had not received a clearance to sign with St Kilda and as a result the issue went to court. In what was a high-profile case at the time, Foschini argued that the VFL's clearance rules breached restraint of trade laws. He won the case and was allowed to play for St Kilda, in doing so helping to abolish the zoning system

Zoning (Australian rules football)

In Australian rules football, zoning refers to a system whereby a given area, either region or lower-level football league, is reserved exclusively for one club....

 from the league.

At St Kilda he was used mainly as a rover and played for the club until a shoulder injury ended his career in 1988.

Personal life

Foschini attended Westall Secondary College in Clayton South, Victoria

Clayton South, Victoria

Clayton South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston. At the 2006 Census, Clayton South had a population of 10,644.-History:...

 and Mazenod College in Mulgrave, Victoria

Mulgrave, Victoria

Mulgrave is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash. At the 2006 Census, Mulgrave had a population of 16,280....

. Foschini's parents were both born in Italy and he was shortlisted for the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century. He played soccer as a child and his son Matthew Foschini

Matthew Foschini

Matthew Foschini is an Australian football player currently playing for Melbourne Victory.-Club career:On 18 August 2009, he was signed to a contract with the Melbourne Victory senior squad on a two-year deal...

 plays for Melbourne Victory FC.